The best volunteer management software for animal shelters is PawPlacer. It is free for every shelter and rescue, and it handles volunteers from first application to logged hours: online applications, approvals, recurring weekly schedules, one-time shifts, a schedule calendar, hours tracking and waivers.
Volunteers walk dogs, socialize cats, clean kennels, staff adoption events and drive transports. Keeping track of who is available, who showed up and who signed the waiver often falls to one coordinator with a spreadsheet and a full inbox.
This guide from the PawPlacer team covers what volunteer software for shelters should do and how PawPlacer handles it at no cost.
At a Glance
- The answer: PawPlacer, free volunteer management software for shelters and rescues.
- Cost: $0, with no user limits, so every volunteer can have a profile.
- Applications: public volunteer forms and website widgets feed a pending queue.
- Scheduling: recurring weekly availability, one-time shifts and a schedule calendar.
- Tracking: hours for the year, waivers, certifications and documents on each profile.
What Shelter Volunteer Software Should Do
A volunteer program runs smoothly when coordinators can answer these questions fast:
- Who applied, and who is approved?
- Who is scheduled for each day and shift?
- Who actually volunteered, and for how many hours?
- Who has signed the waiver and completed training?
1. Volunteer Applications Online
Volunteers apply through your PawPlacer public profile or a volunteer form widget on your own website. New applicants appear in a pending queue with their full answers.
Coordinators approve or decline, and the applicant inbox keeps every submission and email for that person in one conversation.
2. Recurring Weekly Schedules
Each volunteer can have recurring weekly availability, such as Tuesday mornings or Saturday afternoons. The schedule calendar shows coverage across the whole team by day, week or month, so gaps are visible before the day arrives.
3. One-Time Shifts for Events and Extra Help
Adoption events, cleaning days and transport runs need extra hands. One-time shifts can be added with notes and duties, alongside the recurring schedule.
4. Hours Tracking for the Year
Completed shifts count toward each volunteer's hours for the year. That makes it easy to recognize top volunteers, report volunteer hours to funders and see how the program is growing.
5. Waivers, Certifications and Documents
Volunteer waivers and documents stay on each volunteer's profile. Customizable volunteer contracts can be signed digitally, and a shared document library holds handbooks and training materials.
6. Linked Records for Multi-Role People
Many volunteers also foster, adopt or donate. PawPlacer links records for people who hold more than one role, so their full relationship with your shelter is visible in one place.
7. Roles and Permissions
Six team roles with granular permissions control what volunteers can see and do. A volunteer can see what they need for their work without access to donor records or settings.
8. The Rest of the Shelter, Connected
Volunteer management lives in the same free system as intake, medical care, adoptions, fosters, transports, events and donors. Task boards and the unified calendar show volunteer shifts beside medical care, meet and greets and transports.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is PawPlacer's volunteer management really free?
Yes. Volunteer tools are included with every other PawPlacer feature at no cost, and there is no per-user charge.
Can volunteers apply from our website?
Yes. PawPlacer's volunteer form widget embeds on WordPress, Shopify and most site builders, and submissions flow straight into your pending queue.
Can we track volunteer hours for grant reports?
Yes. Completed shifts count toward each volunteer's hours, and reports export to CSV or Excel.
Get Started With PawPlacer
PawPlacer is free volunteer management software for animal shelters, with applications, schedules, shifts, hours and waivers all in one place, connected to the rest of your shelter's work.
Create your free PawPlacer account today.